


All Too Familiar

by Somnolent



Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: But whatever, Healing, I'm putting the majority of my effort into this fic, M/M, Rape Recovery, lots of venting, recovering from trauma, scout is neurodivergent, sniper is trying his best, this is gonna be a harsh one, which means chapters will be released slower
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:02:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 11
Words: 7,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27653113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Somnolent/pseuds/Somnolent
Summary: After finally separating himself from his abusive ex Oliver, Jeremy falls into a state of severe depression. He tries to forget all the things Oliver did and he tries to keep his team from knowing what happened to him. But he can't keep Mundy from finding out.
Relationships: BLU Sniper/RED Scout, RED Scout/RED Sniper, Scout/Sniper (Team Fortress 2)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35





	1. First Few Days Apart

**Author's Note:**

> This fic will contain graphic descriptions of PTSD attacks, panic attacks, and moments of eating disorders. Please be warned. I do not sugar coat things.

I'm done with this shit, alright?" Jeremy yelled, pointing his index finger at the taller man standing in the doorway. The source of light being behind the other man resulted in his face being unreadable. The air seemed to escape from his lungs when the taller man lifted his hands, ready to grip his shoulders. Jeremy reached for his baseball bat hidden just out of view from the doorway. 

"Ya shoulda just run.." The man growled with a toothy grin. With a swift move, Jeremy hit the other man in the face with his bat. Leaving him disoriented for just enough time to allow the scout to run. 

Jeremy booked it back to base. He did not dare to turn around. As good as it felt to give him a bruise back, he knew he fucked up. He knew that if he stopped for even a second, he would be caught again. He ran without trouble for what felt like half an hour.

"Hey!" The man roared. He was running after the scout. Though not as fast. His shouting led Jeremy to turn around to look at where he was. Resulting in him tripping over his own feet, falling face first into the cold sand. The taller man caught up to him and grabbed him by the foot.

"Noooo!" Jeremy cried. "Please let me go!" His heartbeat raced and his body felt numb. The world around him seemed to slip away. All he could hear were echos. 

Echos of him laughing. Echos of his own screaming.

Echos of a gunshot. 

\-------------

"Noooo!" Jeremy cried, sitting up in a matter of seconds. He was shivering and covered in sweat. He quickly studied his surroundings. There were his posters of various events and people. His hands lay on his bed. His own messy crimson coloured bed. None of his surroundings were blue. Aside from his bruises; although those were more purple than blue. 

Jeremy spotted his metal baseball bat, which had a few more dents in it than usual. When he tried to recall what caused those dents, he could feel fear bubbling up inside of him. His legs and arms felt faint, followed by his face. His hearing began to intensify and his vision darkened. Knowing he would likely faint if he kept thinking about it, he turned his attention to his door. 

"Door. Doorway.. leave. Leaving. I left. I'm fine. Red base. Calm down." Jeremy said to himself, trying to talk himself through it. He slowly shifted his legs over to the side of the bed, trying to step up. When he stood up, his legs felt brittle.

"One." Jeremy took a breath, stepping forward.

"Two." He stepped forward again.

"Three." He moved towards the door.

"Four… five… six… seven… eight…" He placed his hand on the doorknob. He saw how thin his wrists were and how bruised his arm was. He felt the anxiety rising up again. The scout shook his head and focused on the task at hand. He opened the door. Jeremy closed his eyes before stepping out of the room, taking in a breath. 

"H-Hi? Anyone?" Jeremy spoke in a soft and strained voice. "M.. Medic? Spy? Sni…" It hit again. This time, a lot harsher. He slammed the door shut, immediately falling onto his back when he let go of the knob. His hearing started to intensify again, followed by his vision fading. Despite the rising numbness in his limbs, he laid on his side and hugged his knees. Tears began to drop from his eyes as his hearing slowly faded out again. The world slipping from his grasp yet again. 

Jeremy had already blacked out by the time Spy knocked on his door. He couldn't hear the knock. Spy knocked a few more times before eventually just entering his room. 

"Scout?" Spy looked around the room, not noticing the boy laying on the floor to the side of him. "Scout. Where are you?" When Spy did eventually notice, his harsh demeanor lessened. 

"Jeremy." Spy lightly tapped his face. "What are you doing sleeping over here? You have such a good blanket and pillow over there." He pointed at his bed, which was about two feet away. Jeremy did eventually open his eyes. But his response wasn't all too good. 

"G-Get off of me!" Jeremy yelled. He used whatever energy he had left to kick his legs up to push Spy away. He steps back to give the boy some room. 

"Apologies for raising any fears." Spy said, pulling a cigarette out of his case. "You are needed in the meeting. I heard you call a few minutes ago and I thought I should remind you since you are now awake." Jeremy stood up, still feeling frail. He followed Spy to wherever today's meeting was being held. 


	2. Battlefield Anxiety

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeremy fails to control his anxiety in the battlefield. It makes Mundy worried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More PTSD and anxiety for ya

As Jeremy followed, he looked at the base's walls. The two bases he had seen were definitely discernible. Blu's base felt cold and more factory-like. Red's base seemed more welcoming and convivial. His perception may have been altered by his team assignment, though. Along with other factors. 

When Jeremy entered the meeting area, all eyes were on him. They seemed to burn through his skin. He thought about running back to his room or possibly putting on some kind of mask over his real fearful expression. He began to consider his second option when everyone stopped staring.

"Scout? How was it?" Engineer said, breaking the awkward silence. Everyone shifted their focus onto Dell now, giving Jeremy a moment to breathe. 

"How was.. what?" Jeremy asked, doing his very best to sound normal.

"Your vacation! You told us you'd be takin' a few weeks off." Engineer seemed relatively positive about this. "Even if you were gone for much longer than that." 

"I'm sorry. I told you what? I don't remember sendin' any letters that said I was taking a vacation." Jeremy began to hyperventilate a little. He vaguely recalls being told that a letter was sent to Red about his absence. But he doesn't remember writing it. 

"Ehh.. Scout? Vhat happened to your arms?" Medic asked, a genuinely concerned expression on his face. "They look bruised." 

"Shut up, alright? Let's focus on the fight or somethin'. I don't know what's been goin' on." Scout yells, sitting down in a chair nearby. Medic glances at the other's with an expression that only reads 'something's off'. Sniper returns the look. 

\----------

Scout decides to force himself into battle, despite his dangerously low energy and lack of food. Administrator wants them to grab Intelligence and go. Seems simple enough. He just needs to stay near Red's base and stay away from Blu. It couldn't be easier.

It's not. 

"Scout! We need you to get to zhe Intel!" Medic shouted at him from afar. He was currently trying to heal Demoman. Scout nodded and hesitantly headed towards Blu's base. He held his scattergun with quivering fingers, slowly walking towards the door. He sees the inside of the building, seeing those familiar grey walls with blu paint. The metal floors, the cold air, the eerie noises of machines. His body can't keep up with all of the anxiety and fear building up inside. He dashes out of the building. He runs as fast as he can past the red base. The scout finally spots some wooden crates to hide behind. He collapses as he dives behind them, dropping his scattergun and baseball bat. 

Roughly 8 minutes later, Red's Sniper sees Scout laying on his side near a bunch of crates. But from the sniper's angle, all he sees is Scout's scattergun and his inanimate lower legs poking out from behind the crates. 

"Scout? Ya alright there, mate?" Sniper asks, still aiming his rifle at the enemy. "Scout? Scout??" Sniper begins to panic. He drops his rifle and steps towards his sleeping body. He kneels down and lightly taps Jeremy's face. 

"Oh bloody hell.." Sniper rubs his eyes. "We better be in the respawn zone." Suddenly, Jeremy begins to shift his body. He sits up, barely able to use his thin arms to push himself back up. He opens his eyes to see his team's sniper nearly crying over him. He acts out of impulse and starts trying to get away. 

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" The scout yells, pushing Sniper away from him with his foot. "Get away from me!" Sniper looks at Scout dead in the eye, a saddened look on his face. Almost as if he was disappointed to receive this kind of response from Scout. 

"Wait, Scout! Hold on a minute." Sniper says, sounding worried. "Let me help ya out here." But, unfortunately, it's too late. Scout has already run off. 


	3. In Different Paint

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scout remembers a moment with his abuser during dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Blood, Accidental Self-Harm, and Abusive Memories.

Everyone's in the mess hall. Jeremy wasn't particularly fond of the food there. But, he knew others would get suspicious if he didn't go to dinner. He stepped into the room, trying to remain as quiet as possible to not attract too much attention to himself. He set his tray of food down at the table. He ended up sitting next to Medic, who instantly took the opportunity to ask and examine his arms. 

"Ah, Scout. I wanted to ask you about your bruises." Medic kept his voice down to not disturb the other's meals. "Vhere did you go? It must have been a pretty bad day." He lifted his upper left arm, taking a closer look at the marks. Jeremy pulls his arm back. He doesn't answer the question and instead focuses on the food in front of him. 

"Ehh.. Scout? Vhat happened?" Medic asks again, this time with a little more concern in his voice. "Scout." 

Sniper looks up from his plate of very little food to see what's happening at the other end of the table. He sees Medic continuing to bug Scout for answers. He notices that despite all of Medic's movement, Scout hasn't moved at all. He's completely frozen in one position; he's staring at the table, arms laying on his lap. 

After a minute or two, Jeremy realizes Sniper is staring at him. He stares right back at him. Somehow he recalls doing this before. He tries to ignore it but he couldn't help but think about it.

Oh. He has seen this before. Just in different paint.

_ Oliver looked up at the boy at the other side of the room. He stayed in eye contact, eventually making Jeremy blush out of embarrassment and look away.  _

_ "Sorry about that. I just can't help but stare at you. You're so.." Jeremy blushed even more. "You know." Oliver chuckled and stood up from his seat at the campfire.  _

_ "I know." Oliver smiled. "Ya about ready to go to bed?" He gave the boy a toothy grin. Clearly, something was off. But Jeremy didn't care. He got to sleep with his lover again, despite their team assignment.  _

_ "Come on, Scout."  _

_ "Scout." _

"Scout!" Sniper shouted across the table. Jeremy blinked and he was back in the RED base's mess hall. He immediately realized he was staring at the other man and slammed his face into the table out of impulse.

A collective "Woah.." came from all the mercs as the Scout lifted his head up again. Not aware of his own body at the moment, Jeremy looked at everyone else with fear and confusion. Then he felt something dribble onto his hand. 

It was blood. He must have given himself a bloody nose by banging his head into the table. He started to feel woozy again; anxiety bubbling up inside him. Without warning, he stood up and swiftly ran out of the mess hall. He didn't stop running until he was in his own bed. Then he collapsed onto the bed, allowing for a brief moment of comfort. Despite his bloody nose.


	4. Ain't Alright

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Scout leaves the mess hall, the other mercs ponder what's been going on with him. Sniper has some answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: ???

"That kid ain't alright." Engineer mumbled. The mercs were still sitting at the table in the mess hall. Though no one bothered to continue eating after watching _that_ spectacle. 

"Should we help him?" Heavy asked. "Seems bad." 

"Vell, I've been trying to find out about his bruises but you all saw how that went." Medic responded. "I suppose I could try to help him. But I'm going to need him to stay put long enough." 

"Hey, Sniper? He was staring at you before he went a lil' crazy. Did you do somethin'?" Engineer glanced over at the man. Sniper took his sunglasses off and rubbed his face before mumbling something. 

"I knew I shoulda said this earlier but.." Sniper paused briefly, trying to figure out how to word this. "I was the one who brought Scout here. A few days ago, I was out inna desert between BLU and RED's base. I wanted some quiet. But when I saw Scout covered in cuts 'n' bruises runnin' from the other Sniper, I figured somethin' was up. I hid behind somethin' with the rifle and shot the blue bloke when he tried draggin' Scout back to wherever he came from." The entire room was completely silent. 

"The poor fella was so worn out from whatever hell that bastard did that he didn't wake up when I came up to him." Sniper continued. "I don't think Scout was on vacation for the past couple of weeks. I think something more serious is goin' on here." He looked at the others for a response but all he saw were genuinely shocked faces. Even Spy looked concerned. 

"Do you think he knows it was you who saved him?" Spy asked, breaking the unsettling silence. 

"No. The kid was out cold when I finally got to 'em." Sniper answered. "I don't think he was awake to hear the gunshot either." 

"Vhat else did you see on him?" Medic asked.

"I saw he had his baseball bat that had a bitta blood on it. His legs and arms were just a mess." 

"Anything about the other sniper?" 

"He had real messy clothing. His hair was ruffled and messy. Looked like that bloke was in a fight with someth-" Sniper paused mid-sentence. His eyes opened wide and he lifted his head up. It clicked together in his mind. 

"I have to go talk to him." 


	5. Two Sides of a Door

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sniper talks to Scout about what he did through a door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Description of Traumatizing Event

Scout was laying in his bed curled up on his side. He shivered like he was cold. His red blanket sat bundled up beside him. He seemed to feel safer with it next to him instead of on top of him. He was lost in his blurry thoughts. But he snapped back to reality when he heard a knock on the door. 

"Scout. It's Sniper. Can I come in?" Scout heard from the door. He thought about it for a moment. 

"G-Go away." Scout shouted. 

"Oh for fuck's sake.." Sniper grumbled to himself. "This is real bloody important. Let me in." 

"No! I'm not doing this crap." 

"Scout, listen to me. This is.." Sniper let go of the doorknob. "Look, I don't know what you're scared of or why ya won't let me in. But I have somethin' I have to tell ya." Jeremy stepped out of bed, listening to what the other had to say. He stepped towards the door. 

"I don't know what'll make you more comfortable or what'll make you stop running off. But I need to tell ya this. So, I'm just gonna say it here." Sniper sat down in front of the door, back against it. "I saw you runnin' from that bastard in blue. I saw you runnin' with cuts on your body and bruises all over. I saw.. him tryin' to catch ya." Jeremy quietly sat down in front of the door. He sat with his back against the door, hugging his knees as he listened. 

"I got so worried that I dropped everything I was doin' to hide behind a rock and send a bullet through that bugger's head. When he grabbed ya by the leg, I don't think I ever pressed the trigger on my rifle faster." Sniper seemed to be a little emotional. "You were out cold by the time I got to ya. I wasn't sure if you had made it or not until I heard your breathing. I picked you up and drove you back to the base. Since everyone was asleep, I put you in your own room. I would've brought you to the medic but he wasn't awake… Now you know." Sniper takes off his sunglasses and wipes away the little tears in his eyes. He leans his head back, touching the door.

Sniper and Scout both sat there in silence, leaning against the same door. Just on different sides of it. 

How symbolic.


	6. Distracted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeremy is distracted by his flustered thoughts. Which leads to some problems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Attempted Kidnapping, Gunshot Wound, etc.

Jeremy sat in silence as he processed all of Sniper's story. The guy who looked the most like his abuser was the one who saved him from said person. He knew that the two were separate people. He knew that they both just happened to look similar. But it still bothered him. 

"I don't know if you're actually listening but.." Sniper spoke. "I really care about ya. I hate seein' ya like this. All miserable, bloody, and bruised." Jeremy lifted his head up at the words "care about ya". Though Sniper couldn't see it, he was smiling a little. It felt different from everything else. He felt happier to hear those words. 

"Thank you." Jeremy said softly. His words were quiet, but Sniper could hear them. It made him relieved and happy to hear the scout respond. They both sat there in their shared mood of happiness. Just on two different sides of a door. 

\-------------

"Good morning, gentlemen." Spy opened the morning's meeting with. "Today we have another fight with BLU. It's another payload plan. We all know what that is so.." 

"Question." Soldier stated.

"What is it?" Spy rolled his eyes. 

"What is a payload?"

"Soldier, we have participated in payload plans at least seven times this month. Must I explain this again?" 

"What is it?"

"It's the one with the big cargo of bombs that we push into BLU's base. It's gotta bunch of checkpoints?" Engineer responded. Soldier nodded and then sat back down. Scout stepped into the room, sitting down in the open chair near Medic. He seemed a little more relaxed. 

"Payload. Got it." Scout said before anyone needed to tell him. Spy shifted his focus back onto his paper of news and information.

"Continuing on, we have word from sources that BLU is planning to take Intel on.." Spy continued talking. But Scout spaced out, ignoring the rest of his talking. He thought about what happened last night. He thought about how Sniper was a lot more expressive when he talked about that evening. He sounded genuine about it all. Something that Oliver would never do. Maybe his team's Sniper did more than just care about him. Maybe he was-

"Scout." Spy raised an eyebrow. "Are you listening? You seem to be doing nothing but staring at Sniper." Jeremy immediately shifted his focus back to Spy. He didn't even realize he was staring at Sniper. 

"Sorry." Jeremy blushed a little. "What was the news again?" 

\-----------

Jeremy anxiously waited for the doors to open, with his scattergun ready to fire. He kept thinking about racing as fast as he could to take out the sentry he could see in the distance. But when Sniper lined up in front of the door next to Spy, who wasn't very far away from him, Scout couldn't help but think about Sniper's words from the previous night. 

With his mind now distracted, Jeremy struggled to keep calm. He tried to focus on the task at hand. But he couldn't focus. The doors opened and all his teammates ran out. Medic followed heavy as they mowed down the BLU soldier and spy. Spy went invisible and ran towards the dispenser BLU had set up. Sniper ran up towards the rocks to get into a good position. Scout instinctively ran forward. But, it didn't work very well, as he was quickly shot down by the sentry in front of him.

Scout respawned and ran out of a different exit. He used his bat to take down the sentry. But as soon as he turned around, there was RED Sniper. His flustered thoughts continued, leaving him vulnerable. He ran towards the cart, which was way farther ahead than he thought. But something caught him before he could reach it. Someone grabbed him by the back of his shirt's collar. He turned to see who it was and his heart dropped. 

"Hey, Jeremy." Oliver sneered. "Ya shoulda thought before ya left those doors." Jeremy struggled trying to get out of his grip. Eventually he picked up his baseball bat and weakly hit the BLU sniper in the stomach. He dropped to the ground and immediately tried to escape the area. Just as he stood up, Oliver shot him in the leg. 

"Fuck! No! You freakin'.." Jeremy laid on his side in the dirt, gripping his leg. "Why did you do that?" 

"So ya can't leave this time." Oliver grabbed him by the arm. "You don't respawn unless you die. You won't die from that kinda wound." The BLU sniper began to drag him away, gripping his arm. Scout screamed and squirmed around. He cried out for his teammates, but they were all the way on the other side of the battleground area. He knew which route Oliver was taking him. It was a lesser known route from RED to BLU base; he used it to get to Oliver in the first place. 

Scout started to feel his limbs go numb, aside from the leg with the gunshot wound. He could barely see the world around him. His hearing slowly became more sensitive until it fell into echos of the sounds he heard. 

Until a roaring gunshot hit nearby, followed by the sound of someone dropping to the ground. Someone called his name as he slowly faded back into consciousness. 

"Scout! Scout, talk to me!" RED Sniper cried out as he dropped his rifle. He kneeled down in front of the runner, shaking him lightly by the shoulders. 

"Wh.. What?" Jeremy mumbled. "Blue.. Not blue… red. You have red. You're red. W-Where's Oliver?" 

"Oh good." Sniper smiled. "I saw that blue sniper dragging you away. You were kickin' and screamin' as loud as ya could. I'm so glad you ain't hurt or somethin' worse. I don't know what we would do if ya left again." Jeremy's face had a light coating of red for a moment. 

"Thank you.." Jeremy smiled. "I did kind of get hurt… he shot me in the leg." Sniper looked down at his leg and was shocked that he didn't notice it before. 

"Can I help ya get back inside the base? Medic might need to take a look at this." Sniper stood up and held his hand out for Scout to grab. Scout hesitantly grabbed his hand. He has Scout's arm on his shoulders so he can lean on him for support. They slowly make their way towards the base. 

"Alright."


	7. Truth Through a Door

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeremy finally begins to tell Mundy what happened in BLU base. Although, it's only a little bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mentions of sexual and physical abuse, venting, etc.

After finally convincing Scout to see Medic, Sniper spent the next few hours in his camper. He made himself dinner and by the time he was finished, the sun was down. He laid down on his cot. He tried to fall asleep. But something just kept bugging him. 

Mundy couldn't help but wonder what the hell happened between Scout and BLU's sniper. All he knew was BLU's sniper obviously was violent towards Scout and Scout was terrified of him. He knew that if he wanted to know what had happened, the only person he could really ask was Scout. Heading over to BLU's base was suicide, unless you were Spy. Then that would be just another Tuesday. 

Mundy thought about asking Scout about it in the same way he informed him of what happened a few days ago. Talking through a door, while definitely not a normal way of communication, seemed to work for the two of them.

Now realizing he would lose sleep over this, Mundy headed back towards the base. He quietly entered the building, walking through the halls. He overheard voices coming from the mess hall. He took a quick look at the room but, as he suspected, Scout wasn't in there. He then headed towards his room. Mundy gave the door a light knock.

Jeremy woke up at the sudden knock at the door. He wasn't totally asleep. He hasn't  _ actually _ slept in months. Nights of waiting for Oliver to come in caused that. He limped his way to the door; Medic had healed his foot but he was still getting used to standing on it again. 

"Who's there?" Jeremy asked, standing in front of the door. 

"It's Sniper." Jeremy relaxed a little when he heard that. He sat down on the floor, assuming this would be like last time's conversation.

"Oh! Ok.." Jeremy spoke. "What's up?" 

"I wanna talk to ya about.." Sniper paused for a moment. "..what happened…" 

"With BLU?" Jeremy asked. He started to feel a little uneasy. But he could manage it for a little bit. 

"Yeah. If ya dinna want to talk about that, that's ok. I just.." Sniper sat down in front of the door, just like last time. "I'm worried about ya." There was a moment of long silence. Sniper began to worry that he may have fucked this up. Meanwhile on the other side, Scout was feeling happier. To know that someone actually cared about him was wonderful. He felt comfortable again, just briefly.

"I.. I thought I was in love." Jeremy spoke, voice shaky from overstimulation. "H-He took advantage of my.. the.. the yearning I was feelin' after…" He inhaled a shortened breath, letting it out. He sniffled a little as he thought about how he was going to word the story to the other man. 

"After.." Jeremy cleared his throat. "After I saw Ludwig and Misha together.." Sniper continued to listen quietly, but he too was feeling a wide array of emotions during this. He was surprised to hear that Scout was in love with another guy. He never thought the kid from boston with a bunch of brothers would be gay. But he reminded himself not to stereotype him. He also felt sympathy when Scout mentioned yearning for love. Going through a lot of that himself, Sniper knew how that felt.

"I just wanted to be in love again.. and he took that…" Jeremy sniffled again. "Now I feel like I can't trust someone when they tell me that.. they love me. I'm too god damn scared. Too scared that I'll get beaten and bruised again. Too worried that I'll get worse than I wanted when I hug someone. Too scared that I'll get bitten violently instead of lovingly. Too scared that-" Jeremy covered his mouth when he realized that he revealed a bit too much. He blushed hard when he realized he indirectly called out his own kinks. He covered his face with his hands and continued to blush a bright red. 

"S-Sorry! That was too much info, wasn't it?" Scout blurted out after a moment. 

"Uhh.. maybe? I mean ya got out what you needed to, right?" Sniper blushed a little as well once he realized what Scout was talking about. "It's alright, mate. I won't go tellin' people about that." 

"T-Thank you." Jeremy smiled, still flustered. "I should probably head to bed." 

"Me too." Mundy agreed. He stood up and was about to leave before he heard something from the door.

"Hey Sniper?" Jeremy asked.

"Hmm?"

"Could you come back to talk to me tomorrow? Like this? Through the door?" 

"Sure."


	8. Nightmares & Promises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeremy has a nightmare about Oliver. Mundy tries to comfort him later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Vague description of rape

_Jeremy sat in a vaguely familiar room. It wasn't his own, that's for sure. It's small and cramped. He was laying on a poorly made cot. The blankets were messy and coloured blue. He tried to stand up, but he seemed to be stuck. He tried to move but nothing happened_. 

_"Jeremy!" A voice said. A familiar voice, in fact, it was all too familiar. He began to hyperventilate as he realized who it was._

_"Get away from me!" Jeremy cried. But the figure and it's voice came closer and closer. It was Oliver. He hovered over the RED scout. He placed one hand above Jeremy's head, the other pressed against his chest. The hand slipped down from his chest towards his pants._

_"No! Leave me alone!"_

_"Leave me alone!"_

_"NO! PLEASE STOP!"_

"NO!" Jeremy woke up, feeling out of breath and sweating bullets. He shot up and looked around. 

"R-Red. Red base... Fine. I'm fine."

\-------------

It was meeting time. Sniper was genuinely excited to be in the base after last night. He sat in the meeting room, looking around for Scout. But he wasn't in there. 

Later in the day, BLU tried to take Intel as expected. While everyone was trying to defend the Intel, Sniper couldn't help but ponder where the hell Scout went. He hadn't seen him all day so far.

As dinner time arrived, Sniper began to feel very worried. He sat in the mess hall with an empty plate. His mind was so focused on trying to find Scout that he didn't even realize that the team was talking to him.

"Sniper, you there?" Engineer asked. He waved his gloved hand in front of Sniper's face. Immediately, he blinked back into focus.

"Yes! Sorry. I was just tryna figure out where Scout went." Sniper responded abruptly. 

"I dunno. Haven't seen 'em all day." Engineer answered, looking around. Sniper's eyes widened and he stood up immediately. He walked towards the hallway to the mercenaries' rooms. Engie and the others watched him.

"What do yer reckon he's doing?" Demo asked, clearly not taking the situation seriously. 

"No clue." Engie responded with a chuckle. They shrugged it off as nothing more than an odd thing and moved on.

Mundy nearly ran down the hallway. He was quite worried. He thought about what could have possibly caused him to disappear again. Was he experiencing anxiety again? Did the other Sniper take him again? The latter was terrifying to even consider. As soon as he reached the door, he knocked as calmly as he could. 

"S-Sniper? Is that you?" Scout asked as soon as he heard the knock. 

"Yeah, it's Sniper." Sniper responded, thankful that he heard Scout before anything else happened. "Would ya like me to stay here at the door or can I come in?" 

"Stay at the door." Scout said. He sat down in front of the door, as did Sniper. 

"I was really worried 'bout ya. Is everythin' alright?" Sniper asked.

"No.. not really." Scout sat there with his back resting against the door, hugging his knees again. Sniper sat criss cross facing the door. 

"Why? What happened?" 

"I had a.. a nightmare about.. him." 

"What happened in it?" 

"H-He… He tackled me.. on his bed or somethin'. Then he…" Scout paused to wipe away his tears. "He.. tried to take off my…" 

"Was he tryin' to.. do that?" Sniper asked, adding emphasis on 'that'. 

"Yes." Scout responded. 

"I'm so sorry. I wish I coulda helped ya. If I had known that you were at their base, I would've done everything I could to bring ya home. I really care about ya, mate. I've really liked ya for a while now. Now that I know about what happened, I just want you to know that I would do anything to help you." 

"You are helping me." Scout smiled, turning around to face the door. "Because you're listening to me when no one else will.." 

"Then I'll keep listening to ya." Sniper smiled back, even though they both can't see each other. 

"Thank you." Scout placed his hand on the door. Sniper placed his hand on the door as well. They spend a moment just like this. 

"I want ya to know that I will never force you into doing anything. I won't put my hands on you. Ya got my promise." Sniper said in a reassuring but serious tone. "I promise ya, Scout."

"Thank you." Scout said. A moment of quiet followed. "Call me Jeremy. I don't think we really need to be professional during these door conversations." 

"Alright. My name's Mundy." He added. 

"I think I'm going to go to bed now." Jeremy yawned. "Could we continue doing these?" 

"Of course."


	9. Overstepping Boundaries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sniper accidentally oversteps Scout's boundaries. Then it makes Scout realize something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are making progress!

For nearly six weeks, Jeremy and Mundy meet each other at the door every evening. They spend a couple hours just talking and enjoying each other's company. Even with the door between them, they still connect with each other. 

Some evenings they discuss Jeremy's problems, other times they tell jokes. Some evenings Mundy tells his stories from being out in the desert and other evenings Jeremy tells his stories about his family. 

One evening Jeremy brings up something completely different from what he usually likes to talk about. The atmosphere felt particularly different that evening. 

"Hey, do you want to hear a story about that time I accidentally walked in on Heavy and Medic being really gay?" Jeremy asks as Sniper sits down. 

"Uhh.. sure?" Mundy chuckled.

"So I was coming back to my room after I ate something in the mess hall. I was walking past doc's room. And I overheard some noises. I think I heard muffled German or somethin' and the door was open a little. So I quietly peek through it and guess what?" Jeremy tells the story with a few giggles. "They're kissing! Like, really hardcore kissing! I was so caught off guard by it that I started laughing. They looked at me and their faces turned red. It was hilarious!" The two start to laugh loudly. They could barely contain it. 

"If I was gonna kiss someone like  _ that  _ I would at least close the door. No one needs to run into me being dry humped and kissed while sitting on a table." Jeremy continued. But he stopped talking when Mundy's laughter seemed to be cut short. 

"Oh no.. did I say something bad?" Scout starts to panic a little.

"N-No! You're not doin' anything wrong. I'm just flustered is all." Sniper explained. "Now my face is all red. Sorry 'bout that." An awkward pause hits the two. The sound of the doorknob turning breaks the silence. Jeremy opened the door slightly, looking through the crack. He looks at Mundy. He blushed a little as he saw the other's face. He let out a little giggle and smiled. 

"Sorry. I just wanted to see your face." Jeremy chuckled. Mundy's face turned a darker red once he saw the boy's face. Something about it felt beautiful in a way. The lighting of the room down the hall hitting his face softly; it brightened his adorable smile. The light dusting of blush on his cheeks. The way he giggled at the situation. It all made him feel.. different. As he continued to stare, his own smile melted into a goofy one. Boy, he was in love.

"Mundy?" Jeremy snickered. "You're staring at me." Mundy snapped out of his daze and sat up straight. 

"S-Sorry! Ya just look so beautiful right now and I got lost there.." The sniper blurted out, still blushing madly. Now he wasn't alone on that end, at least. Because Jeremy was now blushing a dark crimson. Or at least he was from what little Sniper could see before Scout slammed the door shut. 

"Oh god… I'm so sorry! I never shoulda said that. I'm sorry for breakin' your boundaries there." Sniper facepalmed, standing up. "I'm such a.." He mumbled curses to himself as he walked away. 

On the other side of the door, Scout sat leaned up against a wall near the door. He sat in silence, curled up and hugging his knees again. His head was full of thoughts; he couldn't comprehend any of them. Except for one. One thought was clear as day. 

"God damn it. I'm falling in love again."


	10. A Breakthrough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scout finally makes a breakthrough during their daily evening discussion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We'll finally be seeing some new things happen.

Sniper spent the whole night tossing and turning in bed. He couldn't stop thinking about what he thought of while talking to Scout. He imagined being in a similar scenario with him. One where he would kiss Jeremy roughly and rub against him. Being passionate and loving. It made his face turn bright red every time he thought of it. He couldn't stop thinking about what happened after he mentioned how beautiful Scout looked. How upset he must be. How wrong he was to overstep his boundaries like that. 

It all left Sniper to be an absolute mess in the morning. He sat in the meeting room. He pushed aside his thoughts relating to last night to focus on what Spy was announcing. But it wouldn't stay on the back burner for long. As soon as they were lined up behind the gate for a payload battle, Sniper's mind went down the gutter again. It worsened when he saw Scout running towards a sentry. He struggled to focus on his path towards a vantage point. He became hot and sweaty due to the weather combined with his flustered frustration. Since he was off his guard, the other team's Spy stabbed him in the back. Which relieved him of most of his misery. 

On the other side of things, Scout is doing just as bad. If not, worse. He stands near the cart, shooting incoming enemies. He tries to ignore the memories of last night when he sees Sniper run by. But they still come to mind. He wants to run off. He wants to hide back in his room at the base. But he stands through it. He pushed through his anxieties until the last minute was over with.

\------------

It's finally the end of the day. Scout waits in his room for Sniper to come for their evening chat. He's eager to see him. But also a little worried. But regardless, he's excited. It's become a part of his day that he looks forward to. Then there was the knock. 

"Jeremy?" Sniper asked, sitting down in front of the door. Scout did the same.

"Hey, Mundy!" Scout sounded tired but happy. "Can I ask you somethin'?"

"Yeah." Mundy responded. His answer was followed by a moment of unnerving silence. He could just barely hear the other's voice. On the other side of the door, Jeremy sat there contemplating whether or not he was going to ask this question. He was thinking about it all day. He wanted to ask. But something told him to wait just a little longer.

"Can.. Can you tell me some stories about the desert?" Jeremy's shoulders dropped as he lowered his head. He couldn't do it. He couldn't ask him the question. 

"Uhh.. ok." Mundy thought about it for a moment. "I saw a meteor shower a coupla months ago. They were real easy to see once I moved the camper farther away from the base. Seein' a bunch of lights makes it difficult to see the stars. But once I did find a good spot to park where the seeing was great. The stars were beautiful." He thought back to the sky he saw that night. It was amazing. He wished he brought Scout with him. 

"Hey Mundy?" Jeremy spoke after a few minutes of quiet. "W-When you said I looked 'beautiful'.. did you really mean it?" Mundy froze. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He knew that if he tried to say this quickly, it would come out wrong. And if it came out wrong, he would hurt Jeremy. 

"I did." Mundy waited for the 'get away from me' or the 'what the hell is wrong with you'. He was more than nervous. This boy meant so much more to him than he let on. Especially after seeing what BLU's sniper had done. 

The door knob turned, interrupting the unnerving silence. It opened all the way, revealing Jeremy sitting on the floor. There were tears in his eyes and he had a small smile. Their eyes met and blush dusted both of their faces. Mundy hesitantly raised his hand up to Jeremy's face, cupping his cheek in his hand. He wiped away the other's tears with his thumb. Surprisingly, Jeremy didn't recoil back or slap his hand away. He melted into the sniper's touch. He leaned into his hand a little, closing his eyes and blushing. 

Jeremy let a quiet moan slip through his lips. He looked up at the other man in front of him. The two of them were both blushing quite brightly now. 

"S-Sorry.." Jeremy looked away for a moment. "I've been feeling kinda touch starved lately." 

"It's alright." Mundy set his hands down. "I'm gonna head to bed for the night." Before he could stand up, Jeremy grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him close. He pressed his lips against the other's. The two melted into the kiss. Their shoulders relaxed and they closed their eyes. Jeremy's grip on his shirt loosened. Eventually placing his hands on his shoulders. Then broke apart for air.

"I didn't know how to say I love you so I did that instead." Jeremy blurted out. 


	11. Stalemate Request

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scout asks Sniper if they could do something together after work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to apologise to literally everyone who was following me for this story. I totally got distracted by We'll Keep You Safe and forgot about this story's existence.   
> I do have a few chapters ready to go, but I'm still unsure as to how I'm going to continue this story. I have the story all thought out, I'm just not sure how to execute it.

"That's one hell of a way of saying 'I love you'." Mundy grinned. "Can I say 'I love you' in  _ my _ own way?" Jeremy wasn't sure what he was going to do. But he knew he could trust him. His way of saying 'I love you' was quite simple: a soft kiss on forehead followed by a quiet whisper close to the ear saying "I love you". Mundy stood up, getting ready to leave.

"Goodnight" Scout said as he stood up. He closed the door, turned around, and cheered silently. He was so afraid this night would go horribly. But it didn't. He laid on his bed and drifted off to sleep with those happy thoughts. 

\--------------

The next few weeks were the best weeks Scout had experienced in a long time. He kicked ass on the battlefield. He was capable of doing his job again. After battle, he had someone to spend his evening with. Sniper would often take him outside to see the stars or talk to him in his room. Scout wasn't exactly comfortable being in the camper yet. So, they stayed in his room a lot more. 

The two of them were excellent when working together on the field. Scout would help Sniper find good spots to stand by. In return, Sniper would keep an eye on Scout during battle. Although, he tended to do that more for concern for his boyfriend's safety than returning a favor. But he knew that Scout was capable of defending himself against Oliver. 

During a particularly long fight over a control point, Scout decides to talk to Sniper about a little idea he had. He finds him in one of the towers above. Knowing that this was going to be a long stalemate, he figured now was the best time to babble about it. He checked his surroundings and then ran up the worn down staircase. 

"Hey, Snipes." Scout smiled as he walked up behind him. "It got boring out there so I figured I might just hang with you." His boyfriend simply nodded and mumbled something to acknowledge him. This was pretty normal for Sniper to do so he wasn't bothered by it. Scout sat down on a crate near him. He started to tap his feet and play with his dog tags. 

"Sounds like ya need somethin', love." Sniper chuckled, still not moving out of his position. He had a few people coming into range and was ready to hit a headshot. So he stayed hunched over with his rifle pointed out of the little window in the tower. 

"Yeah, I kinda do.." Scout stopped tapping his foot and instead fiddled with the aged poster in the room. "But it's not something we can do here." 

"Oh?" Sniper asked. "What'd that be?"

"Could you.." Scout chuckled nervously. "..c-cuddle with me tonight?" He had wanted to do this for a few days now. He felt like he could handle being cuddled by his boyfriend. If they could kiss somewhat roughly for more than a minute without causing Scout any distress, then they could cuddle. 

"Yeah, alright. I'll meet ya in your room tonight." Mundy looked at him briefly and smiled. Scout smiled back. He set the old poster down, accidentally touching one of the used jars sitting on a crate next to him. 

"Eww!" Scout stood up and Sniper started to laugh a little. "Wash your hands before going into my room tonight, ok? I don't need piss stained hands touchin' me." 

"Alright, I'll do that." Sniper went back to what he was doing. Scout stepped down the rickety staircase and went outside the building. He had a bright smile on his face and a bit of energy added to his step.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be updates eventually.


End file.
